Red Threads of Fate
by gobalbucs
Summary: Sirius and Remus enter a relationship at a young age and already they know that they were fit to last, but that doesn't mean that what they have will survive completely unscathed. Being so young also means being naive. The Marauders, Lily, and Severus were all young and naive once but that never stopped them from taking a chance, throwing caution into the wind, and being themselves
1. Prologue: Threads Unwound

**A/N****: Hello all and welcome to Red Threads of Fate! :D**

**This is my first multi-chaptered Harry Potter fic! The basic theme is based on a line from a character in one of my favorite animes, which you can read below. **

**This fic is a bit AU and it starts during the MWPP era and will probably end in OoTP. This is a Remus/Sirius SLASH fic with a couple of other pairings on the side. **

**Warnings****: THIS IS SLASH, MALE/MALE, HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONSHIP SO I DO NOT WANT ANY FLAMES. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. ALL FLAMES WILL BE CHALLENGED AND LAUGHED AT. IF YOU FLAME, EXPECT A FACE LOAD OF CYBER HUMILIATION.**

**Pairings: Remus/Sirius; James/Lily; Possible Severus/Lily; Possible Peter/OC; Possible Harry/Ginny; Possible Ron/Hermoine**

**There isn't much that goes on yet, but there will be a bit more to look forward to in the next chapter. This is more like setting the stage.**

**Either way, hope you enjoy!**

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_Round and round goes the spinning wheel; spinning and weaving a red thread of fate. _**–Naraku.**

Prologue: Threads Unwound

A particularly dark and dreary morning hung like a bad omen over the grand city of London. Dark fog blanketed the brick buildings that loomed over the earth and loud thunder clapped following every flash of lightning. Curtains of mist unfurled through the streets, draping over street signs and shop windows, blowing haphazardly down the roads obscuring vision to near dangerous levels. Luckily, today's harsh weather scarcely posed a risk, as it was Sunday, hardly anybody at work, and no one wished to catch an early death by venturing even a step outside of the safety of their dry hovels. In fact, most of London's residents were cooped up warm and snug in their homes; thick blankets, warm mugs of cocoa, and plenty of family to spend the damp, gloomy day with.

Most of course, did not include one Sirius Black.

Sirius, 11 years old, heir to the Black Family and its fortune, laid wrapped up in his silver quilt beneath his dark green canopy bed. The entire room was layered in a thick emerald green wall paper, embroidered with silver patterns. Other than the paper, the walls were bare and the only furniture that inhabited the room was the boy's bed, his enormous walk-in wardrobe, and another large closet that held just about everything else from his toys and games to his Quidditch broom. State of the art of course, and the fastest and most expensive one on the market currently.

Sirius Black was a very beautiful child. Shiny raven hair that fell in waves half way down his long neck and draped thick locks across his forehead, vibrant steel-blue eyes that seemed to pierce straight through you, full rose-red lips, a finely shaped nose and defined cheek bones, hindered only slightly by the persistent presence of his remaining baby fat, long, thick black eyelashes, a lean, sinewy body, and glossy porcelain skin.

Sirius was watching the blackened clouds drift ominously through the sky, waiting for the impending rain they promised. He had encased himself in his quilt like a butterfly in its cocoon, only Sirius was not waiting for a transformation. He was waiting for the damn weather to fix itself into a much warmer, much sunnier state. He was sick and tired of being trapped in the Noble House of Black, where his parents were heartless shrews and his snobby baby brother was sucking up to them.

He once, a very long time ago, mind you, truly believed what his parents preached. However, when he was eight years old, he was visited by his uncle Alphard, who wanted to spend some quality time with his nephews. Sirius and his baby brother, Regulus, went out with Alphard to a muggle museum. The boys did not know the art was produced by muggles, however, and were thoroughly surprised when Alphard divulged this to them.

They had two completely different reactions to this information. Regulus was irritated that they visited a _mudblood _attraction and was adamant that they leave straight away. Sirius, however, was intrigued and wanted to look around some more.

In the end, they ended up staying for another two full hours, with Sirius in awe with just about every piece of work, and with Regulus sulking and dragging his feet.

When they got home, Regulus went straight to their parents and told them where they went. Alphard was forced to leave Grimmauld and Sirius was locked in his room.

_You are a Black,_ his mother, Walburga Black, had reminded him for what seemed to be the hundredth time. _You DO NOT associate with mudbloods or mudblood-lovers. You are a pure blood, you stand high and proud and you will NEVER fall any lower. You are worth more than the entire HISTORY of mudbloods and mudblood-lovers combined, for they are worth NOTHING. Always remember that, Sirius._

And he did remember it, until a little more than a year later when he was nine.

This time, his cousin Andromeda visited Grimmauld Place. She brought her new boyfriend, Amadeus, over and took Sirius to one of the shopping centers downtown. Regulus couldn't come because he was getting fawned over while in bed with the flu.

Andromeda and Amadeus treated Sirius to just about anything he wanted, whether it was food, clothing, or toys. There were a lot of things they ended up buying of course, not because Sirius was materialistic, but because he had never seen stuff like this before and like the child he was, he was curious.

The clothing was very different from the finely tailored robes he usually wore and the toys were nothing like he'd ever seen. It was strange, in Sirius' mind that they couldn't move or fly around, but they intrigued him nonetheless.

Once they left the shopping district, his cousin and her boyfriend were walking back to Grimmauld Place with Sirius riding on Amadeus' shoulders, holding a small stuffed black dog. He asked Andromeda why the toys didn't move and why the clothes looked so different.

"Because they are muggle toys and muggle fashion," she answered.

The little Black sat shocked and mouth agape. He stared down at the stuffed dog in his hands and gave it a murderous glare before tossing it down harshly onto the concrete.

Andromeda bent down to pick it up and tried to hand it back to her baby cousin. When he refused to take it back, she said, gently: "Is it the toy's fault simply for being made by the hands of a muggle? Is it right to judge it for something it had no control over?"

Soundlessly, he reclaimed the stuffed dog.

Half a year later, Alphard returned to Grimmauld with the notion that he was going to take his favorite nephews to the park. Regulus, however, was with their father, Orion, at the Ministry, which left Sirius to go alone with his uncle.

Alphard took Sirius to a playground on the outskirts of London. The young Black, because of his outgoing, confident, and positive personality, made quick friends with many of the other children there. While Alphard was chatting up some of the mothers, Sirius spent his time playing something called Cowboys and Indians with a few of the other boys. He had never heard of cowboys or Indians but the game was loads of fun.

He was designated as a cowboy and he, along with three other boys, were supposed to chase the four other boys who were chosen to be the Indians. The cowboys were supposed to gallop as though they were on horses and tag or tackle the Indians. Once an Indian was tagged, he stayed rooted to his spot "tied up" until a fellow Indian came by and "untied" him or until the game ended with all the Indians "tied up."

A few hours later and Alphard and Sirius were making their trek back home. Sirius was hyped up, explaining the game to his uncle. He was very jubilant until Alphard commented to him: "Yeah, those muggle lads really do come up with the strangest things, don't they?"

Sirius' joyful mood slammed to a halt. A half shocked, half disgusted look wormed its way onto his face as he crossed his arms and glared at the sidewalk in front of him.

Tricked once again, it seems.

Alphard gazed at his nephew for a few analyzing seconds before he added: "You know, Sirius, sometimes the world isn't as black and white as many try to convince themselves it to be. There are exceptions to every rule, and the fine line between what is right and what is wrong isn't always clear. But what you should always remember is that everybody is wrong sometimes, even those closest to you. Instead of going with what everyone else thinks is right, think for yourself. What feels right to _you_?"

Sirius visited that park every Saturday since.

There were two other occasions where uncle Alphard visited Grimmauld and one other time when Andromeda visited. On none of those visits did Sirius' relatives get to see him, let alone say hello because every time they came over, the young Black was confined to his bedroom.

Sirius' parents found out what Alphard and Andromeda were telling their son and they were not in the least bit happy. They felt that they were "corrupting" him, and so to make sure that Sirius never listened to what they had to say, they locked him up whenever they came by. These "coincidences" did not evade Sirius' awareness and only began to further push the boy to really reconsider everything his parents were always telling him.

The older Sirius got, the more he began to understand just what exactly his parents were doing. He began to truly understand "Pureblood Fascism." Everything started to make sense to him and gradually, he was beginning to see the other side of the argument. Gradually, he stepped away from his parents and their views about non-purebloods. He began to disagree.

The first time he disagreed was when his parents were discussing the Dark Lord Voldemort's plan for muggles. His parents said Voldemort should continue to obliterate them. Sirius said Voldemort should leave them alone.

He was condemned to his room for the next twelve hours.

The second time was when his parents said the Ministry should be authorized to kill half breeds on sight. Sirius said the Ministry should grant them equal rights so long as they don't hurt anyone.

He was deprived of food for twenty-four hours.

Sirius realized, the more he pushed back against his parents, the nastier they got and the punishments grew steadily worse.

He didn't care. When he finally began looking through his own eyes instead of his family's, he saw his own path to personal worth. This path included nearly nothing of what his parents had infused into him since the day of his birth. He followed his own light. His family did everything possible to try to extinguish that light, but with the help of his uncle Alphard and his cousin Andromeda, their efforts were futile.

It definitely made life difficult for Sirius in Grimmauld, but he always saw it as a personal triumph to annoy the crap out of his parents and younger brother whenever he put up a fight about something he didn't agree with.

Though that usually led to a confinement in his bedroom with no food for the rest of the day, and that was how Sirius ended up in his bedroom today on this very stormy morning.

It was another argument about the treatment of half breeds such as vampires and werewolves. Sirius believed that they should be treated the same as everyone else, and like everyone else, punished and locked up when they hurt someone or break the law.

He was sent up to his room and was ordered not to come down for the rest of the day. If he was good and quiet, _maybe_ Kreacher could send up some soup and crackers in another ten hours or so.

So currently, Sirius was trying to keep warm in his freezing cold bedroom while staring blindly out at the grim environment.

After about ten minutes of watching the blackened clouds drift across the sky, a small and blurry shadow flew quickly through the clouds and over Grimmauld. About thirty seconds after that, he heard a small commotion downstairs accompanied by the sound of footsteps ascending the stairs to the young Black's bedroom.

Two knocks at his door and Sirius asked: "What?" His younger brother opened the door and replied: "Mum wants you downstairs. She has your Hogwarts letter."

No sooner had the words left his mouth that Sirius charged out of his room and thundered down the stairs and into the kitchen. He snatched the letter from Walburga and began to read.

"Dear Mr. Sirius Black of Number 12 Grimmauld Place,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

"Such a shame," Walburga complained. "We were aiming for Durmstrang, much better school. I imagine that they would have drilled some sense into you…"

"Shut it, mum. YES! I'm going to Hogwarts!"

Orion grunted from behind a Daily Prophet. "Don't speak to your mother like that. We'll go into Diagon Alley tomorrow and get your supplies."

"Yes, father," Sirius complied. He often didn't need to have his father yell at him to do something. From experience, he knew that once the anger manifested itself into the sheer volume of his voice, the physical punishment was dealt. Frankly, he was too excited to really want that at the moment.

The next day rolled around and Sirius and his parents and baby brother spent almost the entire day at Diagon Alley. He walked by a very pale blond when entering the shop of Ollivanders, where he spent a whole fifteen minutes searching for the perfect wand.

When he entered Madame Malkin's, he was referred to the section with the most expensive tailored robes. He didn't even have to wait until the Madame was finished measuring a boy who had a sharp nose and slick black hair. He was seen to immediately, being wizard nobility after all. When he left the shop, he noticed that the boy was accompanied by a young girl with emerald eyes and fire red hair. They were both smiling lightly at each other, or at least the girl was. The boy just seemed to be indifferent but trying to care.

On his way to get pewter cauldrons, he passed by a slightly pudgy blonde trailing after his mother into a sweet shop. Sirius didn't really care for sweets but he heard that the new chocolate whizz balls were simply to die for, so he supposed he couldn't really blame the boy.

Just as he was leaving Diagon Alley, he nearly ran face-first into a boy with messy black hair and black spectacles.

"Oh, sorry! My bad!" He yelled as he took off down the street. Sirius simply glared before following his parents back through the brick wall and into The Leaky Cauldron.

_The threads have been unwound. From the day they received their own Hogwarts letters, their fates have been destined and determined. Every day that passes, every new person they meet, every new experience, is another thread woven into their life, into their fate- a weave that can determine their worthiness, or declare their defeat. _

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**A/N: More action next chapter, I promise! Also I apologize for any confusion in this as it is quite late and I am quite tired... I know, excuses, excuses. -_-**

**This fic will have a bigger basis on Sirius' life than anyone else's, just as a side note. **

**If you guys want a particular pairing to be included that DOES NOT INCLUDE REMUS OR SIRIUS, then comment away! Or if you have any ideas for pranks or events, then leave a review! If I use it, I will credit you at the end. ;D**

**This fic may not be longer than 20 chapters and each one will probably average about 2-3k words. **

**Remember, Flames will be humour material and will likely be incorporated into future chapters as a form of cyber humiliation, or expect a nice little lecture from me about paying attention to warnings and most importantly, GRAMMAR! XD**

**On the other hand, CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM and compliments are most welcome! :D**

**Reviews please! :D**


	2. Chapter 1: Hogwarts Express

**A/N****: Hello all and welcome back! :D**

**I apologize for the wait, I am finding that I am lacking motivation at the present time. :/ Well, I am back and with another chapter! Hopefully you will enjoy it!**

**DISCLAIMER**: **I DO NOT OWN ANY AFFILIATED CHARACTERS/SCENES/WORDS/ETC. THEY BELONG TO J. K. ROWLING- I ONLY OWN THE ONES THAT I HAVE MADE UP! **

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Chapter 1: Hogwarts Express

It was September 1st at eight thirty in the morning. The Hogwarts Express train that would take the students to school was not due to leave the station for another hour and a half. Currently, the platforms of King's Cross Station were crowded beyond belief with rushing passengers and wheeling luggage.

Speaking of wheeling luggage, Sirius Black, clad in his new black robes with silver trimming around the cuffs and collar and running down the folds, was pushing his cart down Platform 9 and accompanied by his parents and brother. The muggles all looked at him funny but the Blacks made it a point to ignore them completely, though Sirius was guilty of sending a few curt looks at a few of them.

When they approached the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10, Walburga Black instructed her son to simply walk straight through.

"Come along," she commanded. Orion and Walburga took a hold of Regulus' hands and walked straight through the wall.

Staring at the spot where his parents had disappeared, the young Black took a deep breath and prepared to rush forward to penetrate the wall before him, when something large and heavy crashed into him. Sirius and the assailant went sprawling to the floor, earning both bemused and annoyed looks from everyone around them.

"Owww…" Rubbing his head, Sirius whipped around to face his attacker. He found another young man spread eagle out on his back. He had messy black hair and hazel eyes. He was wearing black spectacles which were currently skewed across his face. The lid of his trunk had sprung open, spewing his personals everywhere. "What the hell is your problem? Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry, I lost control of the cart. Are you hurt?" The boy on his back asked.

Sirius glared as he stood. "Not too badly, I guess."

The boy smiled apologetically, then his eyebrows shot up in recognition. "Hey, didn't I run into you a while ago? In Diagon Alley?"

Sirius' frown deepened. "Oh yes, very rude, by the way. You should really watch where your lopsided feet take you, otherwise you'd be liable for extreme trauma to others." He smirked. "You're a public menace."

The boy barked out a laugh while getting to his feet, before returning the smirk. "I am so terribly sorry, I know! On more than one occasion, I have been deemed unsafe for society. I should be contained in a big plastic bubble."

Sirius' smirk widened. "No good. You'd just roll over everybody."

The boy chuckled mischievously before extending a hand towards the young Black heir. "And I'd enjoy it too. James Potter."

Still smirking, Sirius accepted the hand. "Sirius Orion Black, heir to the Racist and Most Prejudiced House of Black, at your service."

Upon hearing Sirius' last name, the mischievous glint in James' eyes dimmed and his expression turned guarded. This look became one of disbelief and skepticism once his brain comprehended the last thing Sirius had said. "Huh? Racist and Most Prejudiced?"

Sirius shrugged, smirk gone, an empty look in his eyes. "Well, yeah. I mean, that's what they are, aren't they?"

James blinked once, obvious confusion filling his features. "Uh… yes?" He answered cautiously.

The smirk granted an encore. "You're nervous? Scared of what I'll do if you say the wrong thing?"

James opened his mouth, only to be interrupted.

"Oh I don't blame you, I mean, who wouldn't be? Thanks to our reputation, rightfully earned I shall add, of being cold hearted, narrow minded, self absorbed bastards? I could ruin you socially and financially at a nod of the head or a turn of the hand."

James looked worried but managed to conjure up a malicious glare, as if to challenge the little jerk.

"But that would be mighty childish, wouldn't it?" He continued. "I would never do that."

James blinked again and slowly inquired: "You… wouldn't?"

Sirius smiled. "Of course not! I'm nothing like those evil excuses for human beings. I consider myself the _white_ sheep of the _Black_ fold."

James laughed outright, soon followed by Sirius, all defenses gone for the both of them. However, almost immediately, the laughter died when shrill voices yelled out almost simultaneously:

"James Potter!"

"Sirius Black!"

Both boys turned, Sirius towards the barrier and James towards Platform 9.

"Sirius Black, HURRY UP! We don't have all morning!" The upper body of Walburga Black was revealing itself through the barrier.

"James Potter, watch yourself! Don't ride your luggage down the platforms! You could have hurt yourself, or Merlin forbid, someone else!" Mrs. Potter was stomping her way towards her son whilst yanking her husband with her.

Sirius rose an eyebrow at James. "You _rode_ your luggage into me?"

James shrugged and grinned smugly.

Letting out a swift bark of laughter, the young Black heir helped James pick up his luggage before following their parents through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾. Once they made it through, the sounds of the steam whistle and milling occupants of the platform weaved through the young boys' ears. Parents and students of all ages clamored onto the train when the whistle shrieked its 10 minute warning signal.

James' parents helped load their son's luggage who, after which, turned to help Sirius with his. When he pivoted, however, it started him to see a middle aged house elf pull Sirius' trunk and owl on board. He started again when Sirius tapped him on the shoulder.

Seeing James eyeing the elf, he explained briefly: "That's Kreacher."

"Ah. Creepy, old thing."

"Yeah, not really fond of him, and the feeling's mutual. He's also mentally unhinged- he can't wait until his cranium joins those of his ancestors on our wall."

James choked on air. "HUH?"

"For the last few generations, our family has taken to displaying the heads of their house elves once they've passed. Take the axe, chop, stuff, and hang. Kreacher's looking forward to it."

"Wow… that's just... ew, gross."

"Right?"

The two raven haired youths climbed onto the Hogwarts Express and proceeded to find an empty compartment. Most of them however, were either full or occupied by a couple of older teenagers who were immersed in more than their age appropriate activities.

They finally found an empty compartment near the caboose of the engine and plopped themselves down side by side. Five minutes later, (and five minutes until the train was bound to leave the station) two other youths joined them. Sirius quickly recognized them as the boy and the girl from Madame Malkin's when he went to Diagon Alley for his school supplies and new robes.

The newcomers sat down next to each other with the boy in the window seat, straight across from James. The boy paid no one any mind and instead chose to stare out the window. The girl pulled a book from her bag and began to read. James and Sirius decided to engage in quiet small talk so as not to disturb the other two.

Finally, the whistle blew, announcing their departure. James quickly slid the window down to wave goodbye to his parents. Standing close by to them, he recognized Sirius' parents, and who must be his younger brother, although they were clearly just waiting for the train to disappear around the bend, not at all interested in seeing their son off.

When the train did reach the bend and curve around, leaving King's Cross Station until it was nothing more than a vanishing fuzzy dot in the distance, James turned to the other two occupants. He first laid his eyes on the boy and was about to introduce himself when his hazel orbs were suddenly directed to the fiery haired angel sitting next to the boy. Grinning largely to himself, he reached his hand out to her.

"Hark thee, fair maiden! To whom do I owe this pleasure of acquaintance?" He exclaimed in his overly done imitation of a medieval knight.

Giving him a strange look, the girl replied in a controlled, cynical voice: "Lily Evans."

"Ah, such a fine name, fit for a fine young vixen, such as thee!"

"Right," she replied, rolling her eyes. "And you are…?"

"James Potter, my fair lady!"

"I see. Well, this fine gentleman over here is—"

"Severus Snape," the slick, dark haired boy next to her replied. "I can introduce myself."

"Hello there, Sev!" James greeted, extending his hand.

"Don't call me that," Severus replied, voice laced with ice, and not accepting the handshake.

Pulling his hand back, James gestured to Sirius. "This fine lad over here goes by Sirius Black."

Severus raised his eyebrows in suspicion. "Is that right?"

"You bet," Sirius replied. "However, I think you shall find that I am of much better character than just about anybody else in my family, thank you very much."

"I should hope so, though one can never tell with egotistical jerks like those in your kind of families," Severus ground out, tone dripping with acid.

Sirius shot him a venomous glare and before he could retort, James changed the subject. "So, fair Evans, which house do you think will have the pleasure to be graced with your fine appearance and no doubt attractive wit?"

Lily rolled her eyes again. "I dunno. Probably Ravenclaw or maybe Hufflepuff."

"You should be in Slytherin," Severus suggested. "That's probably where I'll be going."

James narrowed his eyes at him. "Slytherin, huh?"

"My whole family has been in Slytherin for generations," Sirius commented.

James turned to Sirius, eyes wide with mock surprise. "Really? And here I thought you were a good guy!"

Sirius smirked. "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where do you wanna go?"

James unsheathed an imaginary sword and parried it around. "Of the brave and noble Gryffindor, like my dad."

Lily rolled her eyes again and Severus smirked. "Reckless and pigheaded then, are we?"

James turned to glare at him. "Now listen here, you—"

Before James could continue, there was a banging against one of the compartments a couple down from theirs, soon followed by a loud ruckus in the hallway.

Sirius and Lily, being the closest ones to the door, got up and stood just in front of it. Taking the handle and sliding it open, Sirius and Lily peeked out into the hallway to see two large boys towering over two scrawny boys. The largest of the four were already dressed in their school robes and were sporting their loose green and silver striped ties that signified their belonging to Slytherin. They were of gorilla standard and had dark hair and dark eyes that glowed with malice. The tallest of the two smaller boys had short, tawny hair with streaks of dark blonde and amber colored eyes. The smallest boy was slightly pudgy and had bright, thin golden hair and pale blue eyes.

"You are completely daft if you think I believe you when you say that there's a toll for the hallway," one of the scrawny boys claimed.

"It's not a matter of whether you believe it or not," one of the larger boys pointed out. "It's a matter of surviving with your limbs intact if you don't."

"Is that right?" the scrawny boy challenged, pulling out his wand at the same time as the other two boys. The second scrawny boy quickly followed the others, but with a slightly shakier hand.

Before anybody could react, however, Sirius and James launched themselves out of their compartment and straddled the shoulders of the two larger boys, putting their hands over the eyes of their captives. The two gorillas roared out in confusion and fury as they swung their upper torsos and arms around, trying to shake the black haired youths off of them. What ended up happening however, they swung their arms into each other's faces, promptly slapping each other, _hard_, and they fell to the floor, stunned.

James and Sirius climbed off the Slytherins' backs and stepped their way over to the two boys who were frozen in surprise at their quite unexpected rescue.

"You guys alright?" James asked them.

"Yeah, thanks," the golden haired boy acknowledged the raven haired boys. "Those gorillas were trying to extort a couple galleons from us in order to pass through the corridor."

James chuckled as he looked down at their stunned masses. "Slytherins for ya." He looked over at Sirius for his agreement but instead he seemed to be engaged in something else other than the speckled boy's attention. James stared confusedly at Sirius as the young Black seemed to be in the middle of a staring contest with the tawny haired boy.

Sirius and the other boy had locked eyes with each other right after the steel eyed youth dismounted the Slytherin. Steel blue entranced by deep amber, and vice versa. As Sirius had been walking towards the boy, he found himself rendered unable for speech. For the black haired lad, this was out of the ordinary, as he always had something to say. Now he found that he was at a complete loss for words, enthralled by this rather dainty boy in front of him.

Upon closer inspection, Sirius could see that he had a very pale complexion and possessed two faint scars that ran down his right cheek and across the bridge of his nose. He suddenly felt a strong urge to protect the boy in front of him- his amber orbs seemed to cage fear, uneasiness, anxiety, and far more pain than any boy his age should have to experience in a single lifetime. He felt a tug at his heartstrings, staring at this fragile child in front of him; an unexpected longing; a burning desire to hold this boy in his arms and make all his worry and uncertainty disappear.

Instead, he simply smiled impishly and held out his palm. "Hello there, name's Sirius Black."

The amber eyed boy eyed the hand for a few lingering seconds before shaking it lightly, a small smile etched into his face. "Remus Lupin. Thank you for helping out there."

Sirius' grin spread. "No problem. You okay?"

"Yeah, no harm done." Remus could not help but smile warmly at this steel eyed youth. He knew a certain condition he harbored would prevent him from making any close friends, but this boy was different, he felt. He felt this strange sensation that spread through him like wildfire and he was well aware that this child would be the only one who could douse it.

"So uh, you wanna sit with us?" Sirius gestured to James and their compartment.

"Sure." The youth's smile was contagious; he watched as Sirius' face tinged a slight rose. His shiny white teeth dazzled Remus and he knew without a doubt, that this child was beautiful. He felt very self conscious that he was even in his presence, what with his slightly shabby looks and all, but Sirius seemed to not possess a single care.

Sirius beckoned him over to his compartment and took a seat beside him, while James and the other boy took their own seats. After another round of introductions, the pudgy boy revealed himself as Peter Pettigrew.

It was a relatively quiet trip to Hogsmeade Station. Every now and then, James would divert his gaze from his Quidditch magazine over to Sirius and Remus. He did not miss the slightly embarrassed tones of which the two boys took on when speaking to each other. He also did not miss the subtle glances and smiles they kept throwing at one another. Being only a boy of 11, he knew that something was up, but he hardly had the comprehension yet to understand just what it was.

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**A/N****: Somehow, this chapter doesn't feel up to its normal standards and I feel that some of it doesn't make too much sense, or maybe I'm rushing things. I don't know, let me know what you think! I just felt bad about procrastinating and I wanted to put something up, so I hope it was worthwhile for now.**

**I took some lines out of Book 7 so if you are familiar with it, you should be able to pinpoint those lines, however, I was too lazy to find the flashback train scene in the book so they are not exactly word for word. Well, who cares? I don't. ;D**

**It's almost 3 A.M. here so that probably makes up for the strange feeling I have associated with this chapter, and I apologize again for lack of action but I promise you that things will step up! :D Just keep your eyes peeled for the next update that should come around some time this week! In the meantime,**

**Reviews please! :D**


	3. Chapter 2: Of Batman and Sorting

**A/N: Hey hey!**

**So this chapter is coming out later than I had anticipated and once again, I apologize for the tardiness. This one may end up being a bit confusing for you but I don't think it should be... if you're paying attention, anyway.**

**I apologize in advance for any wacky mistakes- this is being edited at 3 in the morning...**

**Anyway, I am a big fan of Batman VS Joker and I have decided to incorporate a bit of that into this fic, but DON'T WORRY if you don't share the same enthusiasm or if you don't even have any idea on what I'm talking about. Just understand that I took some scenes out of one of my favorite Batman movies for the boys to use so just go along with it! I'm sure you'll love it! (Hopefully) Please try to read the parts with it though, cuz it's kind of important and it will be a reoccurring theme throughout this fic so I would highly recommend giving it a chance.**

**So, without further ado: On with Chapter two! (Whoa, that rhymed! XD)**

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Chapter 2: Of Batman and Sorting

The red steam engine pulled into the station at Hogsmeade, whistle blowing sharply. When it finally slowed to a stop, the masses of over exuberant students hopped and climbed and tripped their way off the steps and onto the platform.

James and Sirius, followed by Remus and Peter, followed by Lily and Severus, all dropped onto the thick cement that layered the station floors. Looking around for any clue as to where they needed to go, they get their answer in the form of a large, hulking half giant swinging a dimly lit lantern, bellowing: "Firs' years, over here!"

Sirius looked over at the half giant and smirked. "Wicked."

Remus came up next to Sirius; he smiled at him and said: "Never seen one before?"

Sirius shook his head before looking back with an incredulous look. "And _you_ have?"

"Sure, lots of times." When Sirius' continued to stare disbelievingly, he added: "In books."

The young Black only looked even more confused before barking out a laugh. "Oh my gosh, you're one of _those_ types?"

Remus mirrored Sirius' previous look of confusion. "Well, yeah. I do like books and I love reading so…"

The black haired boy smirked before slinging an arm around the tawny haired boy's shoulders, causing said tawny haired boy to blush slightly. "Don't worry about it. Though I can hardly see why- I hate reading! What's so fab about it?"

"It's the adventure, Sirius."

"Psh, why would you want to _read_ about adventures when you just _experience_ one yourself?"

The amber eyed boy gave up and simply shook his head, a slow smile gracing his face. Sirius let himself glance at the smaller boy. _He's so cute…_

They were soon following the half giant, who had earlier introduced himself as Hagrid, over to the boats in which they would ride across the Black Lake and to the Hogwarts docks. Apparently it was the school's tradition for first years.

Sirius, James, Peter, Remus, Severus, and Lily silently made their way to the docks and managed to all clamor into one boat. Within minutes, they had settled themselves, Sirius sandwiched between Remus and James, Peter between Severus and James, and Lily between Severus and Remus.

Just before the boats set off, James had pulled out a muggle comic from a worn out, brown leather bag that he took with him. He acquired muggle comics regularly from his father- many members of his family worked in the ministry and also worked closely with muggles. As a result, his family owned a couple of muggle items like a telly, a telephone, and other entertainment items like comics. One of James' comic obsessions was _Batman_. He was most particularly interested in the rivalry between the main character, Batman and his arch enemy, Joker. He read and watched the Batman Series and movies over and over again. The comic he was reading currently was one of his favorites: _The Killing Joke_.

Sirius looked over his shoulder at the comic just after the boats set sail and immediately recognized it.

"You're into Batman?"

James' smile was cosmic. "You bet!"

Sirius glowed. "Wow, and I thought I was the only wizard who even knew about it!" Sirius may have been a pureblood, but because his cousin, Andromeda usually dated muggles, she had muggle material, muggle toys, and a telly. Sirius was introduced to Batman through her boyfriend at the time and was hooked on it ever since. "I must have read and watched anything and everything to do with Batman! My favorite movie is _Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker_."

"I LOVE that movie! Joker is definitely one of my all time favorite characters!"

Hearing James and Sirius discuss enthusiastically about Batman, the rest of the boat's occupants turned to listen in to the conversation. Severus watched the two chat animatedly before nudging Lily in the arm and whispering something into her ear. She smiled and nodded and whispered something into his own ear. Then, pulling his wand out, he summoned up a little metal ball that he began tossing up and down in his palm. He scooted closer to the black haired duo and tapped them both on the shoulders. They turned around at his touch and stared at him both quizzically, and slightly annoyed that he had disturbed their conversation.

"Oh, forgive me, Terry, it's just old memories twisting inside me like bad oysters," Severus explained to the two bewildered 11 year olds. "It's nothing- I'm perfectly fine now."

James' eyes widened slightly in realization and incredulity. He fixed his face into a smirk that told Severus he understood, before twisting it into a look of confusion and growing uncertainty. "How do you know my name?"

Severus smirked while tossing the metal ball up and down. "There's nothing about I _don't _know, Bat-fake." He then tossed the metal ball at James and murmured a spell that caused the ball to open up into claws, which latched onto James' left arm and shocking him slightly, though hardly enough to cause him any real pain. "And Bruce- I know you've got your boy wired somehow; well that's just peachy, because I want you to see every minute of this."

Severus began a fit of maniacal laughter that gained in volume, strength, and madness. He grasped the side of his face as he laughed, however he then heard a second voice accompanying his own. Looking up, the black eyed boy caught sight of Sirius, who was also holding his head and laughing along with him. Severus, knowing that Sirius would take over, sat back against the inner wall of the boat, and proceeded to watch the show.

"Ohh, I NEVER get tired of that!" Sirius grinned evilly.

Ten minutes later, the boys had reached the climax of the movie they were role playing. It was also at that point, in which the boats had docked and the first years were trickling out and onto the grass that bordered the lake. Sirius, James, Remus, and the others made it onto shore, still continuing their fun without breaking character. It seemed as though, they were so involved in the acting, they hardly noticed anything else around them, save for the docking.

"Ohh, GOOD- the beam's headed _here_!" Sirius exclaimed, looking at a small beam of light that Severus had summoned to trail towards them as they walked. "Now I'll have to start ALL over again! Thanks for wreaking everything, kid. I'll see you around."

As Sirius was walking away with an irritated expression marring his angelic features, James lunged forward and snatched his arm. "Hold it!"

"Oh wise up, Jr.! Game's over!" Sirius shouted and glared at James.

"I'm taking you in." James insisted, his own look of irritation adorning his face.

"Riiight!" Sirius chuckled before mocking a short fist fight with James, and James himself somehow able to make the fight scene a bit believable by pretending to get punched. Sirius then grabbed James by the shoulders and roughly pushed him forward.

Meanwhile, they and the other students were drawing nearer to the doors of Hogwarts, and their acting was beginning to draw a few eyes. Severus, Lily, Peter, and Remus were certainly enjoying the show, though Remus was definitely paying more attention to Sirius. _Wow, his eyes really seem to light up when he's enjoying himself…_

"You're out of your league, McGinnis." Sirius was advancing on James. "I know every trick the original Batman and Robin knew at their peak."

"Maybe, but you don't know a thing about me," James retorted.

"_You?_ What's to know- you're a punk! A rank-amateur! A costumed errand boy taking orders from a senile old man!" The raven haired boy began to roll up the sleeves of his robes. "Still, if it's a whoopin' you're a wantin'!" James turned tail and ran a few paces ahead. "That's right- better to run and save yourself. It's about your speed."

"Let's dance, bozo."

James and Sirius started a play fight which drew more eyes to their little performance. Students stared in awe as it seemed to be a fight between a raving lunatic and a stoic hero. It impressed and somewhat frightened the others that they weren't even in the school yet and already there was a major fight happening. However, they longer they watched, the more they began to realize that it was staged- they began to notice that the thrown punches and little jumps to avoid said punches were obviously faked. Still, it was one hell of a show, and even Hagrid, whose concern had mounted the more he watched the two boys, began to dissipate some as even he started to understand this. Now, as they continued to advance into Hogwarts, Sirius and James both had his rapt attention, as well as the growing attention they were grabbing from everyone else.

"He's tough," James observed after making a large leap to avoid another one of Sirius' punches. "Any suggestions, boss?"

Before either boy could say another word, a third voice rang out from the crowd that had gathered around them. "Joker's vain and likes to talk; he'll try to distract you but don't listen. Block it out and power on through." Sirius turned slightly and locked eyes with Remus, who smiled slyly at him.

Allowing a quick smile of gratitude for Remus taking the part of the "original Batman", James continued on. "Wait… I like to talk too."

James ran forward and snagged one of Sirius' arms and yanked it upward, causing Sirius to groan in slight pain. "What're you doing?" He choked out.

"Fighting dirty," the speckled boy answered.

Mock glaring up at James, Sirius retorted: "The _real_ Batman would never— UGH!"

James had twisted Sirius' arm in another direction, and although it was faked enough that it wouldn't cause Sirius any real pain, it looked real enough to many of the students watching, who gasped in surprise and suspense.

"Told you, you didn't know me," James smirked before shoving Sirius a couple of feet away from him.

Straightening himself immediately, Sirius commented sarcastically, his evil grin replacing his one of mock pain from mere seconds ago: "Funny guy…" He ran forward towards James.

"Can't say the same for you."

James stepped out of the way and Sirius swiftly pivoted to face him again. "Impudent brat! Who do you think you're talking to?"

"Not a comedian, I'll tell you that."

Sirius bent down to grab a stone and he threw it at James' head, who managed to dodge it by jumping slightly to the left. "Shut your mouth!"

"The real Batman never talked to you much, did he? That's probably why you were so fixated on him." James picked up a stone of his own and hurled it at Sirius' hand.

This one however, hit its mark, causing the young Black to yelp. Then he yelled out: "Don't play psycho-analyst with _me_, BOY!"

"Oh, I don't need a degree to figure _you _out."

Sirius looked back at the beam of light that was still following them and gasped with a touch of worry dancing on his face for a moment.

"The real reason you kept coming back was because you never got a laugh out of the old man," James continued. Their captive audience was hanging on to every word, despite the fact they had no idea what going on. Whispers ran throughout the crowd, while Remus and the others smirked knowingly.

"I'm not hearing this…" Sirius defied, while looking around frantically. He seemed to be searching the area for James who had shimmied up a small tree they passed by and quite conveniently, had stopped under.

"Get a clue, clowny. He's got no sense of humor- he wouldn't know a good joke if it bit him in the cape… not that you ever had a good joke." James' voice was indeed coming from the top most part of the tree. The students watched with fascination, though still not quite understanding where this bout of madness had come from.

"Shut up, shut up!" Sirius' voice was loud and angry, and boy did he look it too.

"I mean joy buzzers, squirting flowers- LAME! Where's the 'A' material? Make a face, drop your pants, SOMETHING!"

"Show yourself!" Sirius' voice was controlled for the most part, but was beginning to border on shaking. The sheer volume was rising with every word and his face was contorting with rage. Meanwhile, James' voice was also rising but also exhibiting a great deal of amusement.

"You make me laugh, but only because I think you're kind of pathetic." The messy haired boy began to laugh a controlled, sinister laugh while Sirius' body trembled with anger, teeth gritted together, and eyes narrowed into slits.

"Stop that!"

James continued to laugh. "So, you fell into a tank of acid, got your skin bleached, and decided to become a super villain." His words took on a cynical yet bemused tone. "What, you couldn't get work as a rodeo clown?"

Sirius picked up a few stones and turned towards the tree. "Don't you dare laugh at me!"

James' laughter only increased as he yelled out: "WHY? I thought the Joker always wanted to make Batman laugh?"

"YOU'RE NOT BATMAN!" Sirius bellowed as he harshly tossed a couple of the stones he was holding into the tree. James could be seen almost a second later, quickly scaling down the tree branches before jumping to the ground. He stumbled on his landing and fell onto his side as Sirius threw yet another stone, aimed at his back this time. It hit its target, but soon James was back up on his feet. Before he could turn to face Sirius, however, he felt another stone hit him in the back and he stumbled once more before falling back down onto the grass.

Sirius rushed over to James, turned him roughly onto his back, and put his hands against his neck, cutting off his oxygen flow. The students around them gasped in horror.

Sirius' face rearranged itself back into its twisted state of demented happiness before he started laughing again. "Come on, McGinnis! Laugh it up now, you miserable little punk! LAUGH!" James tried to say something through his choking, but was practically inaudible. "I. Can't. Hear. YOUUU!"

Finally, James managed to croak out: "Ha. Ha." He then slapped his hand onto Sirius neck and held it in place, while said steel eyed boy cried out in fake pain and he tried to fluctuate and viciously twitch his body dramatically to make it seem like he was getting electrocuted. Were it the actual movie, James would have had a joy buzzer on his index finger prodding at the microchip implanted onto the Joker, killing him.

When James removed his hand, the screaming stopped and Sirius stood up shakily before plummeting down into the grass, and the beam of light that was heading their way caught up and slowly faded away, leaving not a single trace of its existence behind. James still laid stationary where he was, and the first years and Hagrid all held their breath. After what seemed like an eternity, James and Sirius quickly rose to their feet and bowed in front of their audience, triggering a rather loud, massive applause.

At this time, they had made it inside the castle and were standing in the Entrance Hall. They stopped in front of a relatively young witch who soon introduced herself as Minerva McGonagall. She left the students outside of the Great Hall to check on the necessary preparations for the Sorting Ceremony, and also because Hagrid wanted to speak to her privately about the queer behavior of some of the new students.

James and Sirius soon found themselves drowning in a sea of first years who were desperate to know more about their little performance.

"What was that?"

"How did you do it?"

"_Why_ did you do it?" Etc., etc.

Sirius managed to make his way through the crowd and back over to Remus and the others. He smiled at the tawny haired boy and said: "Thanks for taking over back there."

Remus smiled back. "No problem. I knew the part anyway."

"You've seen the movie?"

"Course I have. I love Batman."

Sirius' smile enlarged, showing his pristine pearly whites. "Cool. It's a great show."

"Yeah, I live in a muggle village so I've been able to get my hands on the comics and I've seen the shows and the movies. I really like Batman Beyond, but I think my favorite movie would probably be _Under The Red Hood_."

Sirius gasped. "Is that new? I've never heard of it!"

"It's recent. It came out in the drive-thrus a week before school started and I saw it yesterday."

"Aww, man! I wanna see it! My parents don't own a telly, so I always have to watch whenever I'm visiting my cousin Andromeda. I don't get to do that often, lately."

Remus blushed. "Do you wanna… uh, you know… see it at my place during a break?"

Sirius blinked at him before answering with a wide smile: "Sure! That'd be great!"

Remus smiled in return.

McGonagall returned and brought the first years through the Great Hall and towards the staff table. Sitting atop a stool a standing a few feet from the staff table, sat an old, worn out bowler hat. McGonagall stepped up to stand on the right of the stool, facing the entire Hall.

"Now when I call your names, you will come up and place the hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses." She unfurled a long roll of parchment that held every one of the first years' names. "Harriet Abba."

A brunette with long black hair sat upon the stool and the hat was placed on her head. After a few minutes of silence, the hat announced that the girl was in: "Ravenclaw!"

The Ravenclaws cheered as Harriet hopped off the stool and took a place with her new house mates. McGonagall continued to rattle names off of the list. Following three more people, two girls and a boy, all Hufflepuffs, the head of Gryffindor reached _his _name.

"Sirius Black." The noise in the Great Hall did not get any quieter, as pretty much everyone knew he would be sorted into Slytherin. However, the Hall went completely silent when, after five whole minutes of Sirius debating with the Hat, it finally called out: "Gryffindor!"

Even the teachers were stunned. Sirius however, seemed unfazed. Instead, he walked right by James who slapped him on the back as the young Black made his way to the Gryffindor table. When he took an empty place near the end, many of his new fellow house occupants tried to discreetly scoot away from him, but if Sirius noticed, he paid it no mind.

The sorting continued without a hitch, though no one seemed to shut up about the near heart attack of Sirius _Black _being sorted into Slytherin's rival house, or any house that wasn't Slytherin to begin with.

When the sorting had ended, James, Peter, Remus, and Lily were also sorted into Gryffindor, Severus however, was sorted into Slytherin, much to the dismay of the group. James sat next to Sirius and were adamantly discussing about Batman, Remus and Peter sitting across from them, eating in Peter's case, reading while eating in Remus', and Severus had come over from the Slytherin table to talk to Lily at the Gryffindor table. At first, Severus' appearance sparked hostility from the other Gryffindors, but James, Sirius, and Lily managed to sway the offenders into leaving him alone.

When Severus took his seat next to Lily, he was nudged in the shoulder by James. It turns out that Severus and Lily were very big fans of Batman as well as Peter and Remus. So the five boys and one girl were discussing Batman all throughout dinner and even up on their way to the common room, although Severus had to eventually leave the group behind to gain entry into his own dorm.

After taking in the sight of their new home for the next year, the group took seats by a warm fire and continued to discuss, though this time, more about each other. They found out each other's social status: James, Sirius, and Peter were purebloods, Remus a half blood; magic on the father's side, and Lily a muggle born. It was revealed that James and Sirius were avid Quidditch fans, Lily and Remus loved reading and learning, and Peter loved eating.

After some conversation, the group ended up breaking off- James, Sirius and Peter; and Remus and Lily. Lily was not all that thrilled with James boasting about how great he is and what an amazing Quidditch star he'll be, and managed to lure Remus away while talking about their favorite classic novels.

An hour later and everyone was exhausted, so all five of them made their way up to their respective dorms. The boys had bid Lily a good night- James loudly suggested to her that, should she run into any bed bugs, she was welcome to share his bed, which induced an eye roll from the fiery haired witch, and almost threw themselves through the door of their dorm and into whichever beds they could get into without seriously harming their other roommates.

In less than ten minutes, the four first years had stripped down to their boxers and buried themselves underneath their quilts and matching sheets. Tomorrow would be their first day at Hogwarts, and they'll be damned if they end up sleep-fatigued.

How would they be able to begin implementing their very first prank, which James, Sirius, and Peter had discovered they each had a deep love for mischief making, if they were too tired to pay attention?

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**A/N****: Well I hope this was as good as a fic can be when finished up at 4:00 AM -_-**

**So, I understand that the Batman scenes took up a bunch of this chapter, but I hope you guys were able to see past that, and maybe even enjoyed it a little ;D C'mon, we all know you did.**

**Just a few notes: 1. Back in the 70s, movies were shown in drive thrus, not actual theaters or cinema buildings**

**2. _The Killing Joke _is a Batman comic that stars Batman and Joker**

_**(For those of you who have no idea what happens in Batman Beyond) **_

**3. Terry McGinnis is the "new Batman," he took over for an 80 year old Bruce Wayne, the "original Batman"; Joker is Batman's most notorious arch enemy and most psychotic super villian **

**4. Joker had implanted a microchip with his DNA onto Batman's (Bruce Wayne) sidekick, Robin (Tim Drake) and after you find out earlier in the film that Robin had killed Joker some 40 years previously, it is revealed Joker has indeed returned (hence the title of the film) and he in turn, reveals that he can take control of Robin and actually "become" Joker again, but once Robin recovers, he has no memory of whatever the Joker had done (Joker became a part of Robin's subconscious)**

**5. Terry had gotten ahold of Joker's joy buzzer with which he established contact between it and the microchip- when he pressed it to the chip, the buzzer destroyed it, which destroyed any and all lingering Joker persona, leaving Tim Drake with his own subconscious again**

**6. When McGinnis said: "Any suggestions, boss?" he was talking though a wiretap to Bruce Wayne, whom Remus had dutifully taken the part of**

**7. James, Sirius, Severus, and Remus were simply acting out their favorite scene- it was NOT for real (Hopefully though, this was made clear to you before now)**

**So hopefully this answered any questions, if not, please feel free to ask and I hope you won't mind so much the inevitable repetition of this. Though don't worry too much, it won't be in EVERY chapter, maybe two or three at most and NOT in consecutive order and it WON'T be the same scene**

**I hope you enjoyed, **

**Reviews please! :D**


	4. Chapter 3: The Marauders

**A/N: Back with another chapter! **

**A lot more Marauder action happens in this chapter and you can look forward to plenty of humor! Hope you enjoy! :D**

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Chapter 3: The Marauders

"So what say you, men?" James Potter was bouncing in his seat at the breakfast table, apparently eager to start the day, and what better way to begin than with a refreshing bale of laughter at the expense of someone else's humility?

"I say it's brilliant, mate," Sirius Black flashed a devilish smirk. "Poor ol' Rosier won't know what hit him!"

It was six months into their first year at Hogwarts and already they were the bane of everyone's existence… or rather their torment. It all started on their first day of school, when Professor Flitwick demonstrated their first incantation, _Wingardium Leviosa_. Sirius, upon mastering the charm, used it to levitate the small elf into the air, where then he, James, and Peter began levitating and tossing the helpless professor around to each other in the air like a large ball. The amusement ended quickly, much to the boys' chagrin but to relief of Flitwick, when Remus caught the elf in midair with his own charm and gently levitated him back down onto the floor, sparing Gryffindor any point loss, but earning the three trouble makers detention for three days. (One day for each minute he was up in the air, and Remus had timed it)

Every day since then, James, Sirius, Peter, and very occasionally Remus, paraded themselves around the school, heads held high, causing trouble in any way imaginable- playing pranks, hexing random people in the corridors, insulting the professors with poorly chosen excuses for anything from a nickname to no homework, tardiness, and absences, and just being overall arses to any and everyone who dared to show a back bone.

However, these four boys could get away with just about anything, and even if they did get landed with the odd detention or two, it was never something to dread for them. They made detention fun too- they would spend the time practicing hexes and putting pranks into place on various classroom objects. Most of them sadly, they never got to witness for themselves, but from the incessant chatter that never ceased to ring through the walls of Hogwarts, they would always hear rumors of their mischief after it had taken place, much to their pride and amusement.

Everyone knew it was their doing whenever something hilarious, humiliating, or even downright cruel took place, but it was rare when anyone had any proof, thus the significant lack of punishment. It was this that made them legendary in the school. Every day you could look forward to something worthwhile to occupy your time for even just a few minutes, be it a rumor or story flying through the corridors and up and down the staircases, or the actual witnessing. Not a day went by where none of those boys would get up to wrongdoing.

"Don't you guys ever get tired of harassing people?" Lily Evans asked them, exasperated. It rare when she ever approved of something those boys did, especially when it came to publicly humiliating people. And really, the arrogance they so often displayed really made her sick to her stomach sometimes. She honestly could not understand why one of her best friends, Remus Lupin, could stand this bunch of egotistical jerks.

"It never gets old, Evans," Black replied with a haughty sniff, one that very accurately portrayed his aristocratic upbringing. "It varies yeh see- different people; different hexes; different times; different results! It brings up a very cheerful bout of amusement to everyone watching, not just us." He grinned and winked at the red head.

Lily rolled her eyes. "And never ceases to inflate your egos so large, those muggles on _Sputnik_ could see them." She turned to Remus. "Rem, you aren't seriously going to keep indulging them, are you?" The pale boy simply shrugged. "Why do you hang out with these jerks? Doesn't it drive you to the ends of the earth to have to deal with them?" He shrugged again and returned to his eggs.

"He puts up with us 'cause he loves us, _really_," Sirius answered for him, throwing an arm around the smaller boy's shoulders, causing a tint of pink to dust across his cheeks. "And we in turn, love _him_. We have to protect him, you know?"

Lily rose a skeptic eyebrow. "Is that right?"

"You bet!" James answered for his partner in crime. "You see, Rem is a very easy target for harassment because he's so small and frail looking. Plus he's nerdy and a goody-two-shoes." Remus managed a half hearted glare at the speckled boy. "Therefore, we have to protect him, and teach anyone who comes near him with malicious intent a lesson in manners." James grinned widely, obviously proud of his chivalrous attitude. Lily rolled her green eyes.

"As far as I can tell, _you're_ the one who needs to learn a lesson or two in manners, Potter," a scoffing voice drawled from behind James. James looked across the table on his right to see Severus Snape coming by from the Slytherin table and slipping into a seat next to Lily. "Actually, practically all of you could make use with some manners."

Sirius, James, and Peter huffed in annoyance. "No need for any sarcastic comments from _you_, Snivellus," Sirius pointed out. "Not that anything that comes out of that mouth is of any value to anybody or worth listening to."

Severus simply rolled his black eyes before reaching for a knife to butter his toast. "Shame Black, is that what your mother said to you every time you opened that overly large mouth of yours?"

Sirius gritted his teeth and raised his knife threateningly before Remus caught his arm and dragged it back down onto the table while James worked to wrestle the sharp weapon from his grip. "You great big git!" Sirius ground out. Severus smirked before going back to his toast.

"Sirius, calm down," Remus soothed, rubbing his hands up and down Sirius' arms. He finally managed to coax the pissed-off Gryffindor into a more relaxed state, though his ministrations did not cease. James observed the tawny haired boy's actions before switching his attention to the dazed yet obviously pleased pureblood. _Boy, they sure seem comfy…_

"So Sirius," James decided to regain the boy's attention. "Rosier has a free period this afternoon, wanna do it then?"

Sirius shifted his dreamy eyes to James. "Don't we have Transfiguration then?" He asked, voice slurring slightly.

"Who cares? We'll just get a note or something."

"And who, in their right mind, would give you two a note to skip class?" Lily countered. "It will be obvious to anyone that you two are up to no good."

"Good point," James acknowledged. "We'll write it ourselves."

"Why are you even targeting Rosier specifically?" Severus asked them, curiosity spiking slightly. "Obviously if you were doing it at random, there wouldn't be any kind of planning and you would do it in front of everyone."

"How very observant of you, Snivellus! You see, our little friend doesn't think much of muggles. Calls them a rather foul name, you see. We need to teach him a lesson in manners, as I pointed out earlier."

"Right," Severus drawled. "Though I still think the world would be a much better place if _you_ were the one with manners… and stop calling me Snivellus!"

James huffed in irritation. "For your information, I have plenty of manners, and plenty enough that I would never sink so low as to basically insult my dear Evans over here!"

"Shove off, Potter," Lily muttered.

"Guys, time to leave for DADA," Peter pointed out.

Sirius finally snapped out of his haze and groaned loudly. "God, _no_. I don't know how much more of Abermor I can take!" Sirius fell dramatically across Remus' lap, causing the latter to blush slightly.

"Sirius, we've only had him for over half the year so far," the brunette pointed out.

"Exactly! I hate him!" Sirius grouched and sulked heavily in Remus' lap, arms crossed over his chest.

"And the feeling is much returned," Severus muttered, rolling his eyes. "You know, he would probably be a bit nicer to you if you wouldn't disrupt his class all the time."

"It's not _my _fault if I learn the material faster than others and then get bored! I need to occupy my time otherwise I get fidgety!"

"I'm sure you can find other ways of coping rather than charming the textbooks to attack him every time he walks by," Remus pointed out, slight exasperation evident in his tone. "Why don't you do your homework instead and get it done early? Or read ahead in the textbook?"

Sirius looked up at Remus with a look of pure horror shining in his steel blue eyes. "WHY DON'T YOU JUST ASK ME TO DIE?" His back arched up with a hand over his heart, curled into a fist as if he was clutching an arrow and then fell back onto Remus' lap, eyes closed, and feigning death.

Remus rolled his eyes. "C'mon you big lug, get off. If you hate Abermor so much, the least you can do is to not give him another reason to exercise his hatred of you by showing up late."

James hopped up from his seat. "Yeah, let's go, mate!"

Sirius opened his eyes, winked at Remus, (who rolled his eyes again) and climbed off of him, scrambling after his best friend. Remus stood up leisurely from his seat and stretched his limbs out, cracking some vertebrae in the process. Peter had scurried off after James and Sirius, leaving Remus to walk alongside Lily and Severus.

"Remus, please enlighten us on why you are even bothering with those insensitive clods!" Lily exclaimed. "They drive me up the wall- I don't see how you have any patience."

Remus smiled. "I'm simply a very patient person, Lily. Besides, they're not all bad."

Lily rolled her eyes. If she couldn't get any peace from these boys, she'd end up working her eyeballs out of her sockets to rattle inside her noggin. "Oh pul-leeze! They are all complete snobs, all of them! Especially Potter! Ugh! How I hate him!"

Remus' smile widened. "Actually I'm pretty sure it's just his guts you hate."

"I hate ALL of him! And Black is most notoriously arrogant, must be the Black family heritage."

Remus' smile disappeared. "Well, it wouldn't be smart to announce anything like that to him where he can hear you. He's having awful family troubles presently and he doesn't want to hear anything about being compared to them- it will really set him off."

"Yeah, like that would really excuse his behavior," Lily raged.

"Sirius may be arrogant and brash but believe it or not, he's pretty soft on the inside, once you get to know each other."

Snape scoffed. "You sound like a love sick girl right now, Lupin. You only think he's that way because that's how your twisted logic sees things."

"Sev, stop it. He could be right, I mean, we hardly ever hang around with them." Upon seeing the distressed look on her best friend's face, she reassured: "I'm not saying we should spend more time with them, oh gods no. I would rather swim with the Giant Squid than stand within twenty feet of Potter, but what I _am_ saying is that Remus would know considering he spends all his time with them. I'm still not excusing their behavior or anything though," she added, glaring slightly at Remus, who merely smiled back.

The trio reached the large, double wooden doors that marked the entrance to their DADA class. Entering the dark and dank dungeon classroom, they took their seats with Remus next to Sirius, who had arrived a minute before they did and was now talking animatedly with James on his other side, Lily next to Remus, and Severus next to Lily. When the bell tolled nine, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Abermor, strolled in, decked out in tight black robes with a long black cloak billowing behind him.

"Alright class, today we are going to learn about the right way to deal with Cornish Pixies. They may not be the most ferocious or dangerous of creatures, but they certainly are a menace. Now who can tell me the best spell to use in order to safely trap these little buggers?"

Snape raised his hand and answered when he was called upon. "_Immobilus_, Sir."

Abermor smiled warmly. "Indeed, Severus, thank you." Then as an afterthought, he added: "You know, Severus, you are so very intelligent, truly one of my best students." He then pivoted slightly to face Sirius and his smile full of mirth was replaced with a grimace of disgust. "I hate_ you_, Sirius."

"Yes, yes, we get the point," Sirius waved off the insult with a sigh and small shake of his downy black locks. Ever since he first caused trouble in Abermor's class with biting textbooks and paper airplanes that would fly into his face, Sirius had been the sole receiver of the professor's cruelty, whether it was warranted or not.

Sirius was convinced Abermor was out to get him. _Perhaps he is, _Remus would always say. _You always have to disturb his classes with unnecessary and often vulgar comments and you always have to charm everything to cause physical damage or mass mayhem. No wonder he hates you._ He said all this with a smile of course, the sodding prick. Still, Sirius couldn't help but to be automatically drawn to that smile like a moth to firelight.

After DADA, Charms, and History of Magic was lunch, and the four boys gathered at their usual eating spot. James and Sirius were discussing the note that they had forged during Mr. Binns' boring lecture about the Goblin Rebellion of 973 A.D.

"It's foolproof, Remus! Here, read it!" Sirius chirped, quickly thrusting the parchment into his friend's hands.

"_Dear Professor McGonagall,_" He began. "_Please excuse Mr. James Potter and Mr. Sirius Black from class today,_" Here Remus trailed off and stared incredulously at the two raven haired idiots. "_They twisted their livers; they cannot read, write, or bathe._" The amber eyed boy slowly lifted his left eyebrow deep under his fringe and fought back the desperate urge to laugh until he puked. "_Signed, The Nurse."_ Remus set the note down and stared hard at the two imbeciles.

"Good right?" James smiled cheekily.

"Shouldn't the nurse have a name?" Remus asked him, sarcasm laced clear as day into his words.

"Oh right!" Sirius took back the horrid attempt at a forged note. "… _Bob_!"

Peter, who had been listening to the conversation, chose now to input his opinion. "Bob? Why _Bob_?"

James and Sirius snapped their heads up to stare disbelievingly at the mousy haired boy. "Well, why _not_ Bob?" James challenged.

"Men can be nurses too, you know!" Sirius yelled in mock outrage.

"You sexist deviant!" James shouted, causing a quite a few heads to turn their way.

Peter simply rolled his eyes and went back to his turkey sandwich.

"Do you guys honestly think that McGonagall will believe even a word of that monstrosity?" Remus questioned them, brow still significantly raised.

"Don't really care, to be honest," Sirius answered, waving his hand to dismiss that inquiry. "As long as we successfully carry out Rosier's demise, then who cares?"

"_I _care, Sirius. You can't keep getting into trouble like this."

Sirius shrugged before standing up with James and heading out into the courtyard outside of the Entrance Hall. Remus shook his head and went with Peter to their Transfiguration lesson.

An hour later found James and Sirius in Dumbledore's office with a month's detention for the numerous curses that found their way to many of Rosier's body parts. Needless to say, the two Gryffindors were quite pleased with their work and did not find any objection to a month of scrubbing cauldrons and polishing trophies. It really was quite worth it to see Rosier grow a tree root from his arsehole, near four feet long fingernails, large, floppy bat ears, and gills onto his neck so he would be unable to breathe unless he was in water. That last one had been the reason for the extra long punishment duration.

"McGonagall calls our mischief making 'marauding around'," James explained after he and Sirius returned to the Common room. "So I was thinking we could use a name like that when we refer to ourselves as a whole. I reckon it would be a lot easier to spread the word that way and plus, it would sound so cool!"

"And what name did you have in mind?" Peter inquired, leaning forward in order to fully express his interest in the subject.

Sirius flashed a large, pearly white smile in Remus' direction, who had looked up from his book at Peter's question, and responded proudly: "The Marauders!"

* * *

**A/N****: Yes, cliche, I know- but who cares? XD**

**Well I hope that this one progressed smoothly- I have a feeling I was rushing things, or not being detailed enough where I should have been :/**

**PLEASE tell me what you think and I really do appreciate constructive criticism. Also give me any suggestions if you want to see anything or read a certain pairing (as long as it does not include Sirius or Remus- those two stick together!) or if you feel that I could change or slow something down. I will be suspicious at any lack of concrit because I strongly doubt that there is absolutely nothing that I couldn't improve.**

**Either way, review please! :D**


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